Billionaire Wee family’s UOL sells 87% of Parktown Residence, first in Tampines in nearly six years

SINGAPORE: About 87 per cent of the 1,193-unit Parktown Residence condominium in Tampines North, Singapore, was sold over the weekend, as announced by UOL Group, controlled by the family of late billionaire Wee Cho Yaw. The project is a 50:50 joint venture between UOL-SingLand and CapitaLand Development (CLD).

UOL General Manager for Residential Marketing Anson Lim said most buyers were Singaporeans, either homebuyers or investors. Two-bedroom and three-bedroom units made up 83 per cent of Parktown Residence, with 994 units in total, and were the most popular, with 92 per cent sold during the weekend sale, EdgeProp Singapore reported.

According to Forbes, prices for the units ranged from S$1.07 million for a 463 square foot (sq ft) one-bedroom with a study to S$3.78 million for a 1,679 sq ft five-bedroom apartment. The 99-year leasehold site spans 50,679 square meters and was purchased for S$1.2 billion in a government land auction in 2023.

The project includes 12 six- to 12-storey-high residential blocks, a retail podium, and a bus interchange with direct access to the future Tampines North MRT station. This station will be part of the Cross Island Line, an over 50-kilometre subway linking the Jurong Lake District in the west to the Punggol Digital District and Changi region in the east, set for completion in 2032.

In a press release on Feb 6, Mr Lim anticipated “healthy interest from prospective homebuyers,” citing strong pent-up demand as the last private residential launch in Tampines was in March 2019.

Singapore’s housing demand picked up in late 2024, with government data in January showing private home prices rose 2.3 per cent in the fourth quarter after a 0.7 per cent drop in the previous quarter.

UOL Group has been expanding its land bank to capitalise on this demand. Late last year, UOL, Singapore Land, and CapitaLand jointly bought Thomson View, a residential condominium in Bishan, for S$810 million. Originally built in 1975, the property is planned to be redeveloped into a 1,240-unit residential project.

UOL is part of the business empire left by Mr Wee, who passed away in February 2024 at 95 years old. The Wee family, with a net worth of US$7.8 billion (S$10.41 billion), remains one of Singapore’s wealthiest. /TISG

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